Diario del proyecto Yellingbo and surrounds

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
The weather seemed against us, but after a couple of early showers the skies cleared and the expected wind didn't arrive. A great day to be outside! With the help of 18 sets of eyes and ears, we walked through some beautiful bushland areas in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area and recorded 31 species of birds, including White-naped & Yellow-faced Honeyeaters foraging for insects, the distinctive calls of Fan-tailed Cuckoos & Eastern Whipbirds, a Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike and more! The Southern Brown Tree Frogs were calling loudly, loving the damp conditions. With the keen eyes of some of our teen participants, we spotted a couple basking on the track. We all got a good look at these fabulous animals, recorded their calls and then left them alone whilst we enjoyed lunch and great conversation. The data we collect is uploaded to shared databases (iNat, Birdata, FrogID or FeralScan), helping us, agencies and researchers alike understand more about this important Conservation Area. Thank you for your help everyone :)

Notes from: a Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater hosted citizen science event.
On an overcast but still day with dappled sunlight, we walked a track with towering Manna Gums, Silver Wattles and Blackwoods overhead. The fungi was out in force today, and there was lots of evidence of ant activity. Christian, a teenaged participant, explained that the Australian Red Bull Ants were positioning 100s of the white coloured berries from the shrub above its nest around the nest's entry to regulate its temperature. The white berries cooled the nest. In a different area, we saw another ant nest covered with brown gum nuts, keeping this nest warm. The Funnel Ants, Christian explained built a funnel entry to their nest that caused their prey to slide in. We learnt lots about ants from Christian! The fungi was everywhere, with fabulous names like Wine Glass Fungus, Honeycomb Coral Slime Mold, Red Raspberry Slime Mold, Bonnets, Puffballs, Emperor Cortinar and more! The Southern Brown Tree Frogs were calling loudly but the invertebrate's were few and far. Highlights were the Canary Worm, always a crowd favourite, and The Long Broad-headed Bug.
What a great group of people too! There was lots of friendly, wide-eyed chatter as we learnt together about what we were finding. Then time for lunch under those towering Manna Gums, listening to the frogs and bird chatter. It was a pleasure to share the joy of being out in the bush, and we collected some great species data. Thank you team :)